Lion house reopens with new safety features

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A Transvaal lion waits for its feeding in the Lion House at the San Francisco Zoo on Thursday. After being closed for nine months since the injury of an animal keeper in December, the zoo is reopening to the public and conducting feeding demonstrations beginning today.

Four Transvaal lions, three Sumatran tigers and two Siberian tigers grunt and pace nervously in their small, individual cages. One of the massive lions growls with impatience when, as if on cue, a keeper enters wheeling a cart of bloody brown horse meat.

The slabs clank against a metal chute as they fall into each cage. Next comes the sound of razor-sharp teeth crunching through bone and tearing through flesh.

This was the scene Thursday when the San Francisco Zoo’s Lion House feeding exhibit reopened forthe media — it will open today to the public — after being closed since last December when a female trainer’s right arm was severely injured after a 250-pound Siberian tiger named Tatiana attacked her.

Since then, zoo officials took steps to ensure the safety of its employees.

The injured trainer has chosen to remain anonymous due to a pending lawsuit against the zoo. And Tatiana, who had no aggressive history prior to the incident, still serves as a companion for Tony, a Siberian tiger and the zoo’s oldest big male cat.

“We take all animal-related incidents very seriously,” said Bob Jenkins, director of animal care and conservation at the zoo. “If there is something we can improve on, the necessary steps are taken.”

Zoo officials made structural changes to the lion structure and conducted what they refer to as “reinforced training” for the zookeepers.

As a result, guardrails are now approximately two feet farther away from the barred cages that contain the big cats. And customized mesh now fits neatly over the cell bars. An adjustable metal flap fills the former six-inch void beneath each cage, which Jenkins said “prevents the cats from reaching out.”

Additionally, metal food chutes are now affixed to the bars, so the animals can no longer reach through during the feedings.

Since it was forged in 1940, millions of visitors have stepped across the threshold of the historic Lion House, making it one of the zoo’s most popular attractions. Despite the changes, park visitors can expect the same exhilarating experience in the new, safer environment.

The show remains one of only a few in the nation that features the public feedings of large wildcats. And despite the seemingly dangerous nature of the exhibit, accidents are rare.

We haven’t had any issues at the Lion House in, probably, 10 years,” said Paul Garcia, zoo public relations manager.

Lion feeding shows are held at

2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The cats fast on Mondays.

What remains to be seen is whether crowds will flock to the revamped Lion House.

Alexandra Castillo, a Marin County resident who was strolling through the zoo Thursday with her 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, was receptive to the changes made.

“I’d definitely bring the kids back” to see the cat feeding, she said, adding the attack on the trainer doesn’t scare her, especially due to the new safety precautions.

Los Gatos resident Carolyn Wheeler echoed the sentiment.

“I don’t think anything like that has ever happened here before,” she said of last year’s mauling. “I would come back because I think it was probably a freak accident.”

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